“Then Jesus said to Thomas, “Put your finger here, and look at my hands. Put your hand into the wound in my side. Don’t be faithless any longer. Believe!” John 20:27
A few months ago, I wrote a post called “Give Your Best to God”, about encouraging my children to desire to please God in their actions. I was thinking how easily that that message could be misconstrued, as though God only wants to see our best. The truth is that God doesn’t change, and His love for me is just as great when I’m at my best as it is when I’m at my worst. My actions don’t affect how much He is madly in love with me.
I went to mass a few weeks ago weary after a tough month of trying to keep things together. I broke down near the end, weeping out the heaviness of all I’d been through, giving it all over to Jesus. Just as He vulnerably and intimately shows us His wounds He endured on the cross, I reciprocated. My worst related to some things I’d done, some things outside of my control, and feeling so helpless. I brought my worst to my only hope, Jesus Christ – the light in the darkness. He has the power to raise the dead to life, to bring beauty from the ashes. He is a safe place to hand over my worst and ask Him to again be my Savior.
Jesus, I want to rest in the truth that your love for me is unconditional. Consistent. Not limited. No conditions could change your love for me. You see me, and you see all the movements of my heart, the actions in my day. And you love me. You are not ashamed of me, or to be seen with me. You love me as I was created to be, and as I am now. You love me in my good places just as much as the ugly places I want to hide from others. You love me too much to keep me the same, and you want to redeem the broken places.
Jesus, your love for me is absolute. I have done nothing to deserve this kind of love. It is who you are, and it does not change. May I love you in return as much as I can possibly love you. May I hear your words of life. Speak life into me today. Speak, I am listening. Amen.
My Heart, My Home 